2007 - College of Education - Florida International University

World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)” (Salonga, 1971, track 6), the band actively engages the
members and the audience in thinking carefully about their sexuality.
Performing at mainstream events provides another opportunity for experiencing a
disorienting dilemma. When asked to perform at a mainstream Fourth of July parade, DC’s
Different Drummers willingly acquiesced because “the board felt it was good exposure and
incorporated ourselves into the larger community” (P. Shepherd, personal communication,
November 7, 2006). In August 2003, when the Minnesota Freedom Band hosted the LGBA
conference, delegates from LGBA bands worldwide joined together and performed at the
Minnesota State Fair for a “somewhat puzzled crowd” (www.gaybands.org). The disorienting
dilemma of the band members could consist of starting to think of themselves as genuinely
belonging to the larger, mainstream community; the heterosexuals in the audience could have
most certainly experienced some slight discomfort at seeing a GLBTQ band perform at family
events and begin to rethink prior assumptions about GLBTQ individuals and their community.
Self-Examination and Critical Reflection of Assumptions
At this stage, individuals begin to examine the underlying reasons for their beliefs and
assumptions (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). Often, people reconsider the underlying power
structures holding the beliefs and assumptions in place, questioning if in fact they are somehow
wrong. The band’s GLBTQ status “becomes a transformative tool for thinking about the
construction of one’s sexual identities vis-à-vis the interrelationships among language, history,
and society” (Sears, 1992, p. 152). Unlike other traditional community bands, LGBA bands must
face the issues of homophobia and heterosexism in seemingly simple matters such as selecting a
rehearsal space and concert venue. If the host is not gay-friendly, or at least perceived to be gayfriendly,
then the church or auditorium or any other rehearsal space immediately ceases to be
considered for use. Lesbian and gay bands typically do not allow individuals under age 18 to join
without parental approval for fear of being accused of pedophilia and ‘recruiting’ youth into the
GLBTQ lifestyle. Furthermore, each individual member must carefully consider who he or she
will invite to an upcoming concert to avoid any accidental outings and possible subsequent
negative repercussions. In each instance, the band and its members must think about what it
means to be gay and how basic societal assumptions about the GLBTQ community affects their
individual choices as well as the falsehood of these beliefs and assumptions.
Reintegration with the New, Transformed Perspective
At the final stage, after engaging in critical reflection, people incorporate a new,
transformed perspective with their previously held cognitive framework (Merriam & Caffarella,
1999). LGBA band members learn to accept their own individual GLBTQ status, or role as a
heterosexual supporter, and celebrate their sexuality through performing works by GLBTQ
composers such as Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, and Peter Tchaikovsky and a host of
Broadway medleys. The music encountered in LGBA band performances comprises a cultural
artifact of GLBTQ life in America; performing such music helps solidify a unique identity and
sense of community for GLBTQ individuals (Saliers & Saliers, 2005). More importantly,
however, once the band members consciously accept not only their individual status as gay or
lesbian but also the band’s status as gay or lesbian, it opens an avenue to begin working on
behalf of the GLBTQ community. After realizing the marginalization they and the band must
endure because of their sexual minority status, it helps transform their mindset from one of
passive acceptance to one of community activism and social action.
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